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Paul Writing His Epistles

Saint Paul Writing His Epistles is believed to be the work of one of two painters—Valentin de Boulogne or André Tournier. Both were French Baroque painters born in France to artist families, moved to Rome where they worked sometime between 1618 and 1625, and were influenced by the work of Caravaggio. Both painters’ careers in Rome depended primarily on private patronage. In this piece, St. Paul sits under a strong light at a highly polished table—you can see his reflection in the surface—and the light reflects off his forehead. He is dipping his pen as he reads what he has just written. One of the books he is using has a page turned under to hold his place. There are strong Baroque chiaroscuro shadows surrounding Paul, who wears a red cloak. In Christianity, red represents the blood of Christ and the Christian martyrs.

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Scholars attribute Pauline authorship of the letters ascribed to him in the New Testament, much in the same way that art historians determine a forgery from an original.

Support (especially monetary) that is bestowed from one person or organization to another, or a system of such support. Patronage typically flows from the more powerful to the less powerful in society.

A person deemed holy by a religious tradition, especially in Roman Catholicism.

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